Happened: Revision and Expansion
This is the second project update for my project “Happened” and participating in the One Side Project challenge. You can find my previous posts here.
One of the reasons I decided I had the energy to take up the One Side Project challenge was that there were four times each month set aside that I could work on it, based on my schedule and my kids. By the end of the month that “free” time evaporated due to some smart scheduling. Additionally, it’s pretty clear that it’s easy to dream of new things while “real” work slumps at the end of the calendar year before the first-quarter rush to demonstrate agility. I got a lot done in January but it’s clear that I’m going to have to stick with it if I’m going to meet the trajectory I’d hoped to have.
Done in February:
- Email address set up for service accounts
- Stormpath account set up
- Integrated Stormpath authentication into my API
- API endpoints to add tags, read list of entries by tags
- Blog post
To do in March:
- Account creation functions
- Develop a first-pass signup flow
- Admin interface
Admitting you can’t do it all
One of the things I wanted to do this month was implement the full API including authorization — a large task even if it were my primary focus. Early on in the month, after looking at how I might implement some of the nuts-and-bolts aspects of a HTTP API, I got overwhelmed by the technical details. I’ve implemented parts of a secure API before, but I just don’t have the time to figure it out all over again. I decided to get help.
Asking for help is hard — and just as hard is knowing who to ask for help. I found Stormpath through the many email newsletters and blogs I follow, and their product and instructions were among the best I’ve had the pleasure of trying out. Their developer pricing is generous and ought to get me through the testing phase and possibly into some revenue generation (if that ever happens).
This situation highlights one reason I always put off my side project ideas: that I couldn’t implement my vision perfectly, so why bother? I know I’m limited on graphical expression and color matching, and I’m fuzzy on UX and good signup flows, and the business needs of setting up accounts and planning for customer support are not very exciting. Despite this, these things need to be done in order for a real product to succeed — and with amazing modern products and a willingness to try, I feel like I have the chance to succeed.
And as always, give this article a 💚 recommend if you enjoyed it, and follow One Side Project Challenge for my future updates and other inspiring side projects.
